


A Taste of What Will Be

by Bee_Charmer



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Lexa Lives, Proposal of sorts, What Could Have Been
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 17:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10881267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bee_Charmer/pseuds/Bee_Charmer
Summary: Unprecedented peace will be the legacy of Lexa, Commander of the Thirteen Clans. It is a legacy won with tears, blood, and the loss of too many, but at the end of it all, there was peace. And there was Clarke.----"This is not why I brought you here.” Lexa whispered into Clarke’s ear before stepping back.“Then don’t kiss me like that.” Clarke pushed her away with a smirk.Lexa’s chest warmed with love at the look in Clarke’s eyes. Something in her own gaze must have shifted, drawing Clarke’s attention.“What is it?” Clarke asked.“You look happy.”Clarke paused for a moment as she looked at the forest and rock and stream around them, as she looked straight into Lexa’s eyes. “I am.”





	A Taste of What Will Be

Lexa relished the shade. Summer was drawing to a close but the full heat of the sun still beat down mercilessly. As soon as she’d led her horse toward the heart of the forest, it was as if the world changed. Gone were the clear trails between Polis and the outlying villages and cities far in the distance. Gone were the signs of anyone around her. 

Anyone but Clarke. 

Clarke, who rode beside her when the path was wide enough. Clarke, who had eagerly taken the opportunity to spend a day outside the city unaccompanied by The Commander’s guards. Clarke, whose curiosity was beginning to get the best of her. 

“Do you plan on letting me know where you’re taking me?” 

“Patience, Clarke.” 

Lexa’s mouth quirked at the sound of Clarke’s indignant huff. 

“Patience is necessary for a leader.” Lexa reminded her, unable to stop the slight grin from growing. 

“For a leader, maybe.” Clarke smirked, “But not for your girlfriend.”

Lexa’s brow lifted in challenge. “Are you so sure about that?” 

Laughing, Clarke said, “No, you’re right. I’m not sure I have enough patience to deal with you most days.” 

“Lucky for you, I don’t mind it when you find yourself lacking.” 

“You enjoy it too much.” Clarke teased.

Lexa stared ahead, chin lifting as if she were riding alongside her army, not the woman she loves. 

“I enjoy your passion, your willingness to stand for what you think is right, even in the face of your Commander.” Lexa then looked to Clarke, her expression darkening, hinting at something altogether different. “I enjoy the way you kiss me when your anger has not quite faded.” 

Clarke’s cheeks held the slightest hint of a blush. “Then I should make it a point to be angry with my Commander more often.”

Lexa said with a grin, “I think we’ve had enough of that for a lifetime.” 

“A lifetime, huh?” 

They both smiled then, unable to do anything else but think of their recent conversations as they lay naked, tangled in the blankets of Lexa’s bed. Lexa had been the first to mention it, the first to give voice to hope a lifetime was something they could share. 

Lexa thought often of what Clarke had said to her. 

_I want to be yours._

The words reminded her of a parting they’d once shared, a parting that changed everything. Clarke had offered her a ‘some day’ then. Lexa had agreed, thinking it was nothing but a lie, thinking there would never be a time when they could let themselves be more than what their people demanded. Then the time had come. 

Lexa cried the night Clarke returned to her, her tears full of disbelief and longing. When Clarke was still sleeping beside her as the sun rose, Lexa cried again, terrified of the happiness within her. Each passing day, her fear settled. Clarke was still by her side. The Commander’s influence still maintained the peace amongst the clans. Lexa’s happiness only grew. 

“A lifetime.” Lexa said as a promise. 

“Will it be a lifetime before you tell me where we’re going?” Clarke asked, the rasp in her voice sparking a warmth in Lexa’s stomach. 

“It seems I need patience to deal with you, Clarke.” 

“Yes.” Clarke smiled and Lexa felt the heat in her core slip lower. 

Unable to stop her smile, Lexa said, “It is not much farther.” 

“You said that before.”

She had. 

“Yes, and it was true then, but it is especially true now. Listen.” 

Lexa brought her horse to a halt, urging Clarke to do the same. Without the heavy fall of hooves against fallen leaves and broken twigs, the quiet rumble of a stream could be heard. 

At Clarke’s confused expression, Lexa spurred her horse onward, a smirk forming on her lips. They’d passed several streams, there was no reason for Clarke to think this one was any different. To most people, it wouldn’t be. To Lexa, it was a piece of herself so few knew. 

Clarke looked at her, her curiosity painted clearly in her blue eyes. 

“We will be there soon.” Lexa assured her, starting once again down the barely-there path. 

A few minutes later, Lexa brought her horse to a stop in a small clearing. “We can leave the horses here. The place I’m taking you is just through the tree line ahead.” 

Lexa dismounted, leaving her horse to graze as she grabbed the small sack of food she’d brought to share with Clarke. 

Clarke left her own horse alongside Lexa’s. Lexa could see the curiosity building within her, could sense how close she was to asking once again for anything Lexa was willing to tell her. 

Lexa didn’t give her the chance to ask. 

“Soon.” She said, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. 

Clarke smiled as if she wasn’t at all surprised Lexa had answered an unspoken question. 

Lexa had not spoken purely to appease Clarke though. They were close to their destination, close enough to send Lexa’s pulse pounding through her veins. She’d wanted to share her secret with Clarke for too long. 

Lexa took Clarke’s hand in her own, needed the touch, needing the reminder that her love was with her. Carefully, quietly, Lexa stepped through the tree line, keeping Clarke by her side.

It was as if they stepped into a hidden world. 

Lexa knew what she would see. She would see the same stream she thought of so often, she would see the small cave with soot stains on its ceiling from night after night of fires burning under its shelter. She would see the cliff looming over her hideaway as if it was meant to shelter the space from the world. Lexa could not look at these things though. She could only look at Clarke as she laid eyes on one of Lexa’s deepest secrets. 

“This is beautiful.” Clarke said, eyes scanning the landscape before her. 

Lexa only looked at Clarke. “It is.” 

Lexa watched as Clarke took in everything around her, watched as Clarke’s eyes lit up with wonder. 

“How did you find this place?” Clarke asked, blue eyes eventually locking with green. 

Lexa noticed the slight blush in Clarke’s cheeks as if she only then realized Lexa was watching her. 

“Would you like to eat while we talk?” Lexa asked. 

Clarke’s grip tightened playfully, “You mean I must still be patient?” 

“Need I remind you how _patient_ you insisted I be the other night?” Lexa challenged. 

“Is that the kind of patience you have in store for me?” Clarke asked, a blush illuminating her cheeks at the reminder of how long she’d made Lexa wait, of how many pleas Lexa had made before finally receiving the release she so desperately craved. 

Lexa pulled her closer as if to kiss Clarke, as if to let the frantic press of their bodies become more, as if to let their passion consume them whole. She stopped just short of letting Clarke’s lips touch hers. 

Her heart pounded at the sound Clarke made when the anticipated kiss never came. 

“Lexa.” Clarke’s voice broke in surprise, in desire. 

Lexa ran her hands over the curve of Clarke’s waist, holding her closer as she bent to place a gentle kiss against the line of Clarke’s jaw. Clarke sighed with pleasure, fanning the desire building in Lexa’s core. Before she could lose herself in the feel of Clarke’s body pressed against her, before she could lose the nerve to share another piece of herself, Lexa stopped. 

“You’ve been patient enough already, but this is not why I brought you here.” She whispered into Clarke’s ear before stepping back. 

“Then don’t kiss me like that.” Clarke pushed her away playfully. 

Lexa’s chest warmed with love at the look in Clarke’s eyes. Something in her own gaze must have shifted, drawing Clarke’s attention. 

“What is it?” Clarke asked. 

“You look happy.” 

Clarke paused for a moment as she looked around, as she looked straight into Lexa’s eyes. “I am.” 

It had been too long since they’d gotten out of the city, too long since they’d been able to shed their masks. Their people still needed them, even in peace. Neither of them would have it any other way, but Lexa could not deny her desire to see Clarke free, to see her when she need not worry about scheming or any of the concerns brought to the Coalition. And though she would try to deny it to any who asked her directly, Lexa found herself in need of days where Clarke could look at her without the fear of letting her mask slip and letting all those around realize their Commander belonged so fully to the girl who fell from the sky. 

“Are you hungry?” Lexa asked, leading Clarke to the mouth of the small cave perched on the edge of the stream. 

Lexa already knew the answer and removed her jacket, letting it serve as a blanket for Clarke to sit on. It was not much, but it was one small thing which might make Clarke comfortable. As if in thanks, Clarke took her hand, placing a kiss in her palm. 

Despite the heat, Lexa fought the urge to shiver as Clarke’s lips pressed into her hand. The first time they’d touched, Lexa could not believe the effect Clarke had on her. Perhaps she should have known, perhaps some part of her sensed it the first time Clarke stormed into her tent, but nothing could have prepared Lexa for that feeling growing stronger each time Clarke reached for her. 

“Why this place, Lexa?” Clarke eventually asked as the food in the unwrapped bundle laid out between them began to dwindle. 

Clarke knew her too well to think their trip had no significance. Lexa loved her for it. 

“When I was very young, Anya sent me into the woods and told me to survive until she came to find me.” 

Clarke had long ago gotten over her surprise at Anya’s methods for teaching Lexa, but Lexa still noticed the way eyes glinted as if to say, ‘Of course Anya did.’ 

At first, it had been difficult to talk of Anya with Clarke, to know it was the Sky People who ended Anya’s life. Then Lexa took comfort in knowing Clarke met Anya, even if Clarke only got to see a fraction of the Anya Lexa knew. 

Lexa wondered what Anya would think of Clarke now. 

“Anya gave me nothing to use other than a knife.” Lexa continued, subconsciously reaching for the very knife she mentioned, strapped to her side as it had been since that day. “I was not scared, I did not question my ability to fend for myself, so I did as I was told. For several days, I made my way through the woods.” 

Clarke cut in. “How old were you?”

Wish a shrug, Lexa said, “Six.” 

Shaking her head, Clarke said, “I can’t imagine being out here on my own when I was six.” 

“I cannot imagine being trapped amongst the stars in a metal box.” Lexa said simply. 

Clarke grinned. 

Lexa began again, “As I said, I was not scared. The woods were my home. Eventually, I followed the stream to this point and couldn’t bring myself to go any farther. It felt safe in a way I could not explain. If you ask me to try now, I’m not sure I could, but here is where I stayed.” 

“How long did Anya leave you here?” Clarke asked as she examined the soot marks on the walls of the shallow cave. 

Lexa knew if she looked at the marks closely enough, Clarke would see where Lexa had once written her name with the ash from her fire. She had been young and bored and had never found it within herself to erase the scrawl when the elements seems so willing to leave it be. 

“Three weeks.” 

Clarke was unable to hide her surprise. 

Lexa couldn’t help but laugh. “She trusted I would survive, but I think even she was surprised at how well-fed I was when she found me.”

“I have no doubt.” Clarke said, voice full of honesty and barely masked pride. 

Lexa found her cheeks warming, though she was not sure why. “Anya was the only other person who knew of this place. Before my Ascension Day, I would come here when I needed to think or prepare myself for the life I thought was in store for me as Anya’s Second.”

“And since you became The Commander?” Clarke asked. 

“The Commander could not sneak away from her people.” Lexa paused, weighing her next words. Eventually, the admission fell as a whisper. “But, yes, twice. Once after Costia. Once more when I learned you had disappeared.” 

As if she could see the guilt, the fear, the haunting memories from that time running through Lexa’s mind, Clarke pulled her in to kiss her, coaxing her attention back to the happiness they eventually found. 

With eyes closed, Lexa said, “I’ve thought about bringing you here many times, but when we were talking the other night about… about the rest of our lives, I knew I needed to. I needed you to see this place.”

Clarke’s fingers wove into Lexa’s as they sat on the edge of the stream. A silence settled, encompassing them in the comfort, the peace, they’d always found in each other. 

Lexa listened. She listened to the gentle flow of the water, the singing of birds echoing off the rocks beside them, the steady rhythm of Clarke’s breath. Eyes closed, Lexa let every worry of her life as Heda slip away. 

She heard Clarke’s intake of breath before the words were formed.

“There are so many birds here.” Clarke said. 

Lexa opened her eyes to see Clarke admiring a finch as it perched on a nearby branch. 

Lexa nodded. “For good reason.” 

Clarke’s brow creased and Lexa felt her heart swell. 

“Wait here.” Lexa said with a smile as she grabbed a pouch from their sack and stood, turning toward the rocks.

“Lexa, what are you doing?” 

Rather than give Clarke an answer, Lexa shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it aside.

“Not going to tell me this either?” Clarke asked. 

“You will see.” Lexa teased as she found her grip along the seams of the cliff face in front of her. 

“Lexa, you aren’t actually going to climb that, are you?” The worry was evident in Clarke’s voice. 

“I am.”

She was several feet off the ground when Clarke hissed a warning. 

“Lexa!” 

Lexa couldn’t stop the slight laugh that escaped from her chest. She found sure footing and leaned to see Clarke below her. “I assure you, this is not the first time I have done this.”

“Maybe not, but will you at least tell me why you are going up there?” Clarke eyed the rest of the cliff Lexa faced. 

“As I said, you will see.” She climbed higher. 

The satisfying stretch and pull of her muscles created a rhythm, Lexa finding her holds and reaching for the next with barely a thought. The trees above the cliff drew closer, their twisted roots standing out amongst the rocks, branches swaying as filtered light slipped through. Long ago, Lexa had made the climb seeking nothing but the thrill of it, the burn in her arms. Now, this climb was part of why she’d brought Clarke here, to this place she considered all her own. 

A satisfied smile inched along her mouth as she reached the top of the cliff. There, perched above the stream below, stood a tree full of ripe, dark berries. 

As Lexa had hoped, the birds had not stripped the tree entirely. Many of the berries were within reach and Lexa quickly plucked the ripest, juiciest ones she could share with Clarke as if she feared the birds would swoop in and take them from her hand. 

“Lexa!” Clarke shouted from below, sending droves of birds flying from the trees. 

Lexa peered over the edge, not quite high enough to keep her from seeing the concern etched into Clarke’s expression. She held her hand up to let Clarke know she was nearly finished with her task. 

Once her pouch was as full of berries as she could manage, Lexa tied it to her belt and prepared for the climb back to Clarke’s side. She moved slower on her way down, careful to find her footing, careful to give Clarke no reason to fear for her. 

When her feet touched the ground, she felt Clarke’s heavy gaze on her. It was a look Lexa was more accustomed too than either of them would like, a look of anger caused by nothing other than fretting over someone you were torn between hitting or kissing. 

Lexa smiled, keeping the bag of berries behind her back. 

Clarke looked her over. “Why did you go up there?”

“One of the reasons I stayed here when I first came across this spot as a child was the berries that grow on top of the cliff.”—Lexa held out the bag—“It’s practically impossible to get them before the birds realize they are ripe, but I thought I’d timed this trip well.”

Clarke smiled. “You planned on inviting me out here so I would be able to eat some berries?’

Lexa knew she was teasing, knew it would irk Clarke more if she played along, “I asked you to come with me to show you this place. The berries were an added benefit but if you would like for me to return them, I—“

Clarke grabbed her before Lexa was able to fully turn around. “Don’t you dare.” 

They were both grinning as Clarke finally took the bag.

“Mulberries?”

“You have a name for them?” 

“I’ve never had one, but yes, I know what they are.” Clarke’s smile never faded as she took one of the berries into her mouth. 

Lexa waited, a foolish hope blooming in her chest, mingling with a childish fear of Clarke being disappointed. It was a silly thing to worry about, whether Clarke would appreciate this small indulgence of Lexa’s youth, but Lexa desperately hoped for Clarke to be pleased. 

Clarke ate another one before she spoke.

“These are incredible, Lexa.” Clarke’s eyes were alight with pleasure. 

With the slightest sigh of relief, Lexa reached for the pouch to taste the fruit. Clarke pulled it away, as if she meant to keep them all for herself. Lexa would let her, if that’s what she wished. 

“Come here.” Clarke demanded as she placed a berry between her lips. 

Lexa’s smile flashed as she leaned in to take the berry from Clarke’s mouth, to taste the juice amongst the warmth of Clarke’s lips. 

They shared the rest of the berries as the sun began its long decent toward the far horizon. Eventually, after hours of talking, of kissing, of sharing secrets meant only for each other, they gathered their things. With the ecstasy of the day still coursing through them, it was as if they could not keep their hands for reaching out for one another with every step. The heated kisses they’d shared as they washed the sticky juice of berries from their skin had long ago faded into slow, careful things.

“We should leave soon.” Lexa said, though even she knew her voice held no hint of persuasion. 

“Probably.” Clarke said before kissing her again. 

Their hands wandered, pulling at each other even as their kisses remained slow. 

“Clarke, I—“ Lexa began, only for Clarke to stop her.

“Thank you.” Clarke said, her words a whisper against Lexa’s lips. 

Lexa felt her brow crease. “For?” 

“Sharing this place with me.” 

“I wish to share all of myself with you. I meant everything I said to you the other night. I want to give you everything I have, I want to share the rest my life with you.” Lexa brought her forehead to rest against Clarke’s. “I love you, Clarke of the Sky People, and I want you by my side from now until my spirit is no longer my own.” 

Clarke’s eyes grew glassy with unshed tears. “I love you, _Leksa kom Trikru_ , _Heda kom Thotin Krugeda_ , and I want you to be my wife.” 

Lexa kissed her then, deep and full of a promise she could not trust her voice to deliver.

**Author's Note:**

> When I first mentioned the idea of Lexa rock climbing over [on Tumblr](http://beecharmerwrites.tumblr.com), I figured I would end up writing more porn, not this ridiculous fluff. 
> 
> I won't lie though, I kinda liked writing the fluff.


End file.
